All Greg Meredith wants for Christmas is a little bit of warmth.

"We're ready to rock and roll," the Mount Sima ski hill's area manager said Monday afternoon. "The staff is chomping at the bit; we'd just like to give Mother Nature a kick in the shins, that's all."

Whitehorse's ski hill was supposed to open last Thursday, but when the mercury dropped to 25 below, it was a no-go.

"We were all ramped up for the grand opening," Meredith said, adding that about a dozen people still showed up for lunch, and to enjoy "the best view in town."

The cold weather was a boon when staff were making snow, but now Meredith says they are all hoping it will warm up just a little.

"It's not just that they want to get to work. They want to ski too."

He's hoping the hill will be open on Christmas Eve day.

"It looks like the next 24 hours might be marginally better. The question is: Do we ramp up for one day, just to close for Christmas?"

He asks the question, but by the sounds of it, Meredith will have the hill open as soon as he can, even if it's only for a day, and things will open up again for Boxing Day.

While they wait, Meredith says staff at the mountain are taking advantage of the extra time to do maintenance work on the equipment.

He says he's not worried about losing staff because they aren't getting hours, because everyone hired on at Sima came in understanding that when it's this cold, it just isn't safe to operate.

"Very few of the staff have guaranteed hours," he said. "We've got such good crew; it's not like past years where we had to struggle with younger staff. We have a mature team this year."

The mountain, when it's running full-tilt, will employee up to 35 people, and staff are readying themselves for upwards of 750 people a day.

"That's when we'll start getting a lineup on the ski lift."

And he's sure that whatever income the mountain doesn't bring in in the winter will be made up in the spring, when the hill can stay open into the evening, late enough for the after-work crowd.

"We want to have people getting off work and onto their skis."

Meredith is already thinking about next year and how he can improve the operation.

"The food and beverage is a whole department for us to focus on. There's lots and lots of potential there."

He says with a concerted advertising effort, he thinks they could have the chalet booked for events throughout the season.

"Just through word of mouth, we have had several wedding receptions and government has been using (the Last Run Lounge) quite a bit."

Better transportation to the hill is another thing on the board of directors' to do list.

"The board is talking to the city about transit," Meredith said. "But it isn't as simple as just running a loop up here.

"You don't want skis and boards in there, so they have to build a box on the side or something. They're also thinking about getting a big yellow school bus to run up here.

And then there are all those minivans owned by tour operators that are just sitting idle all winter."

He says sponsorship is an option they are looking into as well.

But in the end, what Meredith really wants is less time to think about the future.

"Everyone think warm thoughts," he says with a laugh. "We're just dying to show this off."